The Washington Post - 26.08.2019

MONDAY, AUGUST 26 , 2019. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE A

and expertise to our growing M&A

advisory group which will benefit

clients in a wide variety of indus-

tries.”

Capital One’s entry into the de-

fense market comes at an incon-

venient time.

The company is reeling from

one of the largest data breaches

ever to hit a financial services

firm, an incident that is expected

to cost the company between

$100 million and $150 million in

the near term. The breach affected

about 100 million credit card ap-

plications.

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 More at washingtonpost.com/

business

for oil fields, real estate invest-

ment trusts and other business

interests.

That business unit was added in

2005 through an acquisition, ac-

cording to Capital One’s Web page.

Capital One executives posi-

tioned the KippsDeSanto move in

terms of the acquired company’s

deep industry expertise.

“Capital One and KippsDeSan-

to have a shared goal of providing

clients with trusted advice and

counsel enabled by deep industry

expertise and a seamless client

experience,” said Steve Tulip, head

of capital markets for Capital One

commercial banking, in a news

release. “By bringing our teams

together, we’ll be able to add scale

ogy Management Associates that

was announced in May 2018. Both

provide analytics technology for

the defense and intelligence com-

munities.


A tie-up among the munitions

companies Global Ordnance and

Chemring Military products.


A combination between the

publicly traded government ser-

vices firms Kforce and ManTech.

The move takes Capital One —

better known for consumer bank-

ing and credit cards — deeper into

the business of advising large cor-

porations on high-stakes mergers

and acquisitions. It already oper-

ates a Capital One Securities busi-

ness unit that focuses on invest-

ment banking and equity research

panies were at a crossroads, facing

a new administration that prom-

ised to decrease the U.S. military

footprint in the Middle East.

It helped facilitate at least 110

strategic acquisitions as defense

contractors that had grown fat on

George W. Bush-era defense

spending sought to remake their

businesses by investing in next-

generation technology.

It also has benefited from new

defense spending under President

Trump, advising on 16 combina-

tions last year and 13 so far in 2019. It

has participated in some recent

deals involving midsize and large

government contractors, including:


A combination of SAP Nation-

al Security Services and Technol-

will retain its name and operate as

an independent subsidiary of Cap-

ital One. The acquisition is expect-

ed to close next month.

“This allows us to expand what

we’re able to offer to our clients in

aerospace and defense technol-

ogy, and over time we will be look-

ing to expand outside of those

sectors into health care and other

fields,” said Bob Kipps, managing

partner at KippsDeSanto.

“It’s really going to supercharge

our growth,” he said.

KippsDeSanto became a leading

dealmaker through periods of rap-

id, at times wrenching, change for

the American defense industry.

It was founded in 2007 at a time

when government-services com-

BY AARON GREGG

McLean-based financial ser-
vices company Capital One is ac-
quiring KippsDeSanto, a Virginia-
based investment bank focused on
the defense and aerospace mar-
kets, the two companies an-
nounced last week.
The purchase price wasn’t dis-
closed.
Tysons-based KippsDeSanto

COMPANIES

Crowe of the District
appointed Pete Mento managing
director in the firm’s tax group.
EverFi of the District
appointed Jesse Bridges senior
vice president of diversity, equity
and inclusion.
Kimpton Glover Park Hotel
of the District appointed Phillip
Blane general manager and
Adela Toto director of sales and
marketing.

ASSOCIATIONS
AND NONPROFITS
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Foundation of the District
appointed Yagmur Cosar
director of communications for

the Corporate Citizenship

Center.

REAL ESTATE

Long & Foster Real Estate of

Reston appointed Lynn

Kemmerer sales manager.

LAW AND LOBBYING

Axinn of the District

appointed Leslie Overton

partner.

Bradley Arant Boult

Cummings of the District

appointed Michael Aphibal

associate in the firm’s banking

and financial services practice

group.

Davis Polk of the District

appointed Robert Cohen

partner.

Michael Best of the District

appointed Mark Yacura partner.

Perkins Coie of the District

appointed Tom Jensen member

of the firm’s environment and

natural resources practice.

Seward & Kissel of the

District appointed Christopher

Carlson counsel in the firm’s

investment management group.

Wilson Sonsini of the District

appointed Eileen Marshall

member of the firm’s tax

practice.

Send information about promotions,

appointments and personnel moves

in the Washington region to

[email protected].

Company Insider Title Date Action Shares Price Now holds

2U Mark J. Chernis Chief operating officer Aug. 14 Bought 32,250 15.47 104,

CACI International Kenneth Asbury Affiliated person Aug. 19, Aug. 20 Sold 14,153 209.16 to 214.96 44,

Choice Hotels International Robert J. McDowell Officer Aug. 16 Sold 11,585 88.37 25,

Cogent Communications Holdings Richard T. Liebhaber Director Aug. 21 Sold 5,000 59.90 66,

Evolent Health Kenneth A. Samet Director Aug. 15 Bought 7,200 7.04 39,

Gladstone Commercial Robert G. Cutlip President Aug. 16 Bought 500 22.09 51,

Gladstone Investment Terry Lee Brubaker Chief operating officer Aug. 14 to Aug. 16 Sold 43,003 11.38 to 11.52 8,

Glycomimetics Daniel M. Junius Director Aug. 13 Bought 10,000 3.18 18,

Marriott International Craig S. Smith Officer Aug. 16 Sold 14,915 128.17 to 128.21 29,

NVR Daniel David Malzahn Chief financial officer Aug. 13 Sold 951 3,562.49 3,

Jeffrey D. Martchek Officer Aug. 19 Sold 2,000 3,552.51 6,

Paul C. Saville Chief executive Aug. 20, Aug. 21 Sold 5,000 3,576.67 to3,579.75 120,

RLJ Lodging Trust Robert M. La Forgia Director Aug. 15 Bought 5,000 15.70 58,

W.R. Grace 40 North Latitude Fund Beneficial owner Aug. 20 to Aug. 22 Bought 106,608 64.59 to 64.87 9,836,

Walker & Dunlop Stephen P. Theobald Chief financial officer Aug. 13 Sold 10,000 57.26 75,

William M. Walker Chief executive Aug. 13, Aug. 14 Sold 90,389 54.63 to 57.23 1,302,

Thomson Financial

Trading as reported by companies’ directors, presidents, chief financial officers, general counsel, chief executives,

chairmen and other officers, or by beneficial owners of more than 10 percent of a company’s stock.

BY PETER HOLLEY

As interest in organized reli-
gion wanes around the world,
and secularism surges, religious
leaders have begun searching for
innovative ways to spread their
message and connect with po-
tential adherents.
In the United States, some
churches have relaxed dress
codes, revamped worship spaces
and churned out sermons that
place less emphasis on sin, all
while embracing Instagram and
refashioning faith as a lifestyle
brand.
In Japan — where low fertility
rates and an aging population
are reducing religious affiliation
— Buddhist priests have been
warning for more than a decade
that their ancient tradition risks
extinction.
To reverse course, a Kyoto
temple has settled on a new plan
for connecting with the masses,
one that channels ancient wis-
dom through the technology of
the future.
Its name is Mindar, a mostly
aluminum androgynous robotic
priest that gives plain-spoken
sermons designed to stimulate
interest in Buddhist teachings,
according to the machine’s de-
signers.
Standing more than 6 feet tall
and weighing nearly 70 pounds,
Mindar preaches inside the 400-
year-old Kodaiji Temple.
Although the robot preaches,
it is not programmed to converse
with worshipers. Its sermons are
translated into English and Chi-
nese on a wall nearby, according
to its creators.
The machine is not equipped
with machine-learning algo-
rithms, but the robot’s designers
said there may come a day when
artificial intelligence gives the
robot some measure of autono-
my, adding a strange new dimen-
sion to how religious messages
are delivered.
“If an image of Buddha speaks,
teachings of Buddhism will prob-
ably be easier to understand,”
Tensho Goto, the chief steward of
the temple in Kyoto’s Higashiya-
ma Ward, said during a recent
news conference, according to
the Japan Times. “We want peo-
ple to see the robot and think
about the essence of Buddhism.”
The robot was created by a
team led by Hiroshi Ishiguro, a
roboticist and professor of intel-
ligent robotics at Osaka Univer-
sity.
Reached by email, Kohei Oga-
wa, an associate professor at

Osaka who helped design Mind-

ar, said researchers’ goal was to

redesign a Buddhist statue using

modern robotics technology. The

result was a $1 million collabora-

tion between the temple and the

university in which researchers

decided Mindar should channel

Kannon Bodhisattva, the Bud-

dhist deity of mercy.

The machine is able to move

its torso, arms and head, which is

covered in a pasty silicone that

resembles lifelike human skin,

according to Agence France-

Presse.

With wires and blinking lights

spilling from the top of its half-

opened cranium, Mindar bears

some resemblance to a Termina-

tor-like villain or the android

from Bjork’s “All Is Full of Love”

video. Adding to this potentially

unsettling aesthetic, the robot’s

left eye includes a tiny video

camera, AFP reports. The article

notes that Mindar’s words are

full of ominous warnings lifted

from Buddhist teachings.

“You cling to a sense of selfish

ego,” the machine says in a voice

that sounds like it belongs to a

woman or child. “Worldly desires

are nothing other than a mind

lost at sea.”

In its current form, Ogawa

said, Mindar is “new media”

conveying religious information

— not an artificially intelligent

machine. But, he said, there are

plans for the robot to evolve,

raising important questions for

researchers and monks that he

labeled “sensitive” in nature.

“In the next step, we are

planning to create an autono-

mous function,” Ogawa said. “We

are going to tackle more funda-

mental issues, such as, what

happens if a Buddhist statue

starts talking?”

“How do we define the intelli-

gence of a Buddhist statue?” he

added. “And how do people re-

solve the gaps between Mindar

and Buddhist teachings, which

are in their mind?”

Mindar is not the only Bud-

dhism-spouting robot on display

in Japan. For several years now, a

doe-eyed humanoid robot

named Pepper has been available

for hire at Japanese funerals,

where it chants sutras and taps a

drum in the tradition of a Bud-

dhist priest, according to World-

Wide Religious News.

Worshipers’ reactions to Min-

dar vary, with some reporting in

a recent survey that the machine

exuded an unexpected warmth

and easy-to-follow teachings and

others insisting the robot felt too

contrived, if not creepy, accord-

ing to AFP.

Goto told the news outlet that

people’s reactions appear to be

influenced by their cultural

background, with Western visi-

tors being more disturbed by the

robot than Japanese worshipers,

who come from a culture that

has embraced robots.

“It could be the influence of

the Bible, but Westerners have

compared it to Frankenstein’s

monster,” Goto said.

Goto said the Buddhist deity

on which the machine is based is

not limited to a single form,

meaning an artificially intelli-

gent machine may be just as

capable as anything of delivering

messages about the Buddha’s

path. Unlike a human priest who

exists inside the impermanent

vessel that is the human form,

Mindar has a distinct advantage.

“This robot will never die, it

will just keep updating itself and

evolving,” Goto told AFP. “That’s

the beauty of a robot. It can store

knowledge forever and limitless-

ly.”

“With AI, we hope it will grow

in wisdom to help people over-

come even the most difficult

troubles. It’s changing Bud-

dhism,” he added.

[email protected]

 More at washingtonpost.com/

business

ON I.T.

Meet Mindar,

robotic Buddhist priest

Japanese temple puts

technology into service

of spreading religion

“With AI, we hope it will grow in wisdom

to help people overcome even the most difficult

troubles. It’s changing Buddhism.”

Tensho Goto, chief steward at Kodaiji Temple

KippsDeSanto buy to further Capital One’s advisory role

Banking units intend

to expand offerings

in defense, aerospace

capital business

APPOINTMENTS TRANSACTIONS

CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

A robot working at Kodaiji Temple in Kyoto, Japan, is intended to boost interest in Buddhism. Although Mindar preaches, it is not programmed to converse with worshipers.

“If an image of Buddha speaks, teachings of Buddhism will probably be easier to understand,” said Tensho Goto, the chief steward of the temple in Kyoto’s Higashiyama ward.